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Natural Birth
XP: laboring in the tub vs. waterbirth
Hi - new to the board! I'm a MD nestie interesting in homebirth for my next LO and I have some questions--hope you don't mind helping me out.
I know this is a LONG way off as I'm not even pregnant yet, but it's open enrollment for the feds and I might need to change my insurance.
I
want to have a homebirth next time, and the only provider covered by my
insurance does not allow water births. You can labor in the tub, but
not actually give birth in it (not sure why). I've found another similar
plan that will cover at least a large chunk of an out-of-network
provider who will let me give birth in the tub.
So--for those
of you who labored in the tub, did it help? Was it tough to get out and
give birth in the bed? For those of you who gave birth in the tub, was
it better than in the bed and why? Anyone plan to labor in the tub/have a
water birth and then change their mind?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: XP: laboring in the tub vs. waterbirth
I'm pregnant with my first, so I can't answer most of your questions. But, I do know that many insurances try to make it seem as though they won't cover homebirths or waterbirths, when in fact, they will. When the time comes and you've chosen a midwife, he/she will usually call the insurance companies and deal with them themselves. Also, a homebirth with a midwife is far cheaper than a hospital birth with either a midwife or an OB. My midwife charges $4,200 for all of your prenatal care, the birth, and 5 postpartum visits. Many midwives will work out a payment plan with you if your insurance won't budge.
Also, if you qualify for Medicaid, Medicaid does fully cover homebirths.
Hope I helped at least a little bit!
I was told that the hospital where I delivered didn't allow water births because of a risk of infection. They actually wouldn't let you get in the tub if your water had already broken. I'm not sure of the justification/science behind it, but that's what they told me.
I labored in the tub for about two hours but delivered in bed. The tub was AMAZING, it helped me relax so much I actually fell asleep between contractions. Right around transition I began to get so uncomfortable that I didn't want to quietly sit in the tub anymore, I felt like I needed to be able to move around more, so getting out of the tub felt like my decision, even though the hospital would have made me do it anyway!
I had a water birth with DS and labored in the tub for about 8 hours (looong labor). The water felt amazing and allowed me to move around as needed. It also gave DH some options for where he was around me (in front of me, behind me, beside me, etc). It was a really great experience and, yes, I think it would have been difficult for me to get out once I was in.
I had a hospital birth with DD, and labored and birthed on the bed in that typical semi-recline position. It was a very different labor, and much shorter, and the things that worked for me with #1 didn't work with #2. I did get in the shower for a bit but it was just irritating me and not helping. This labor was so different that I don't even know if I would have used a tub had I had one.
Not sure if that's helpful or not. Labor is so different every time for everyone, and of course it's impossible to predict what you'll like/want/need. If I were in your position, and wanted to use the tub, I would probably go with that even if it meant having to get out to deliver. Then you'll get the home birth you want, and you'll have a tub available to you should you want. (And FWIW, I've heard of a lot of places allowing laboring in the tub but NOT delivering, so I don't think it's an uncommon policy.) Good luck!
I labored in and out of the tub, and gave birth in the tub. I can't tell you if I would have preferred delivering outside the tub, but I LOVED pushing in the tub (as much as one can love pushing anyway). I got in and out several times during labor, and didn't find the tub to be all that much better than laboring in various positions on dry land - it kind of just acted as another "station" to rotate through, depending on my mood. I labored for 15 hours at the hospital and probably spent about four or five hours total in the tub, including about 45 minutes of pushing. I was really glad to have the option to get in and out, and if I had it to do over, I would choose the tub again.
If you don't end up using it as much as you thought, or at all, I wouldn't consider it a waste. You just never know what's going to feel right in the moment.
FWIW, I delivered in a natural birth friendly hospital, and as they told me, not allowing a woman in the tub after her water breaks is NOT evidence-based medicine. It's just a policy. In fact, my midwife told me that new studies have shown that the water can actually help keep infection at bay. She recommends laboring in water to her patients who test positive for GBS, especially if they don't want antibiotics.
I wonder...how does your home's hot water supply factor in? How do you fill the tub and keep it warm? Do the tubs you rent have an internal heating element?
I know one of the reasons I decided to go to the hospital was that the shower was the only way I was getting relief and we ran out of hot water. That would be something I would consider in choosing home birth.
My plan was to labor in the tub, but get out to push. I ended up delivering in the tub. I loved it. They made me get out a couple times for different things (I don't actually remember why I had to get out the first time, since they were monitoring me by doppler in the tub and did some cervical checks in the tub, but the second time was to break my water) and all I wanted to do was get back in the tub!
Like PP, I loved pushing in the tub. Well, pushing in general was actually quite awesome, but the buoyancy was pretty incredible. MH and the nurse held my hands and my legs floated up and my feet were out of the water as my body curled around my stomach to push. I don't know if I'm explaining it well, but it was amazing.
I think what you're saying about no one dictating how you give birth makes perfect sense. I felt out of my mind during transition- if someone had tried to tell me "do this, don't do that" it wouldn't have gone well. Luckily, I had an awesome midwife who just kept telling me to listen to my body and do what I needed to do.
I had a very short natural labor (4 1/2 hours start to finish.) By the time I got the the hospital, had the baby monitored for 20 minutes (this was the worst part for me), I was in the tub for about 20 minutes before I had to get out and push. Like PP, I was ready to get out when I was in transition labor. I didn't know where to put my body and all the energy and the tub seemed confining at that point. So, the hospital worked for me.
You know, I was wondering about that. I talked to my insurance company twice yesterday and first I was told home birth isny covered at all I would have to pay for it completely. The second time, I was getting more info about birthing centers and they said when I find a birth center that I think will work for me, I just have to call and make sure they are covered. If the insurance company doesn't have them in their database then it would be out-of-network and they still cover about 70% of it. A while after I hung up with them, DH and I were talking and wondered if a home birth could fall under the out-of-network coverage.
Anyone have an experience like that with their insurance?
If you rent an aqua doula it comes with a heat pump...my labor was 40 hours long and I was in and out of that tub for about 20 plus of those hours...and the water was always warm.